"Wh—what's with that look?" Even a man as massive as Jozu felt his skin crawl under the collective intensity of their four gazes.
He quickly shook it off as he noticed Luffy was awake. "Ace's brother, you're finally alright! That's great news."
Luffy stared at him, a few mental question marks popping up. Who is this guy? But he quickly figured he must be one of the Whitebeard Pirates and flashed a brilliant, signature grin.
"What could possibly be wrong with me?"
"Good!" Ace suddenly stood up, addressing the group. "Now that the banquet has started, I can't let you guys head back on empty stomachs. Let's go eat!"
"If there's a banquet, we're definitely not leaving!" In the blink of an eye, Luffy had already vanished out the door.
Seeing this, Drake didn't hesitate to give chase, leaving Ace and Sabo to exchange a helpless look and a shake of their heads.
"Meat, meat, meat... where's the meat!?"
The moment they burst out of the room, the eyes of the Whitebeard Pirates converged on them. It couldn't be helped; no one had the power to block Luffy's path when meat was involved.
"Ah... meat!" A chef had just brought out a massive platter of meat-on-the-bone when Luffy appeared beside him like a teleporting specter.
"Eh?" The chef blinked, suddenly feeling the heavy burden in his hands vanish into thin air. He looked up to see Luffy walking away with the platter, wearing a delighted grin.
"Shishishi..."
"It's Ace's little brother! Eat up, kid! You need your strength to recover!" the chef shouted with a wave.
"Osu!" Luffy waved back, though he was secretly confused. Recover? I'm not sick.
"Yo! Ace, Sabo, Drake! I brought meat! Let's eat together!" Luffy did the unthinkable—he actually shared his hoard.
"Haha..." Soon, the four of them were sitting in a circle. Luffy held the platter in one hand and a giant drumstick in the other, devouring it in massive gulps.
Thud! The platter was placed in the center. Drake was genuinely shocked. Good grief, you could fit several people on this plate and still have room. Can they really finish all this?
"Drake, why aren't you eating?" Sabo asked, mid-bite, noticing Drake's hesitation.
"Mmm?" Luffy, his mouth stuffed to the brim, looked up. "Whuh ahr yoo way-ing for... gulp..." Several drumsticks vanished down his throat in seconds.
Drake gritted his teeth and, with high expectations, grabbed a piece of meat and took a massive bite.
"Oh!?" It was tender, juicy, and literally melted in his mouth while still having a satisfying chew. What kind of meat is this!?
In an instant, Drake transformed into a starving wolf who hadn't eaten in ten days. He began tearing through the meat, finishing a drumstick every few bites.
"Hahaha..." The four brothers didn't need words. They just sat there, devouring meat, their faces lit up with pure, unadulterated joy.
"Gurararara!" High on the platform, Whitebeard downed a bottle of fine sake and laughed heartily at the sight.
"Pops..." The crew looked up at him.
"Captain, you shouldn't be drinking like that..." a woman in a leopard-print nurse's outfit chided him.
Whitebeard waved her off with a smirk. "A pirate who can't drink? Is that even a pirate?" He looked down at his crew. "Lads! We hold this banquet today to celebrate the return of our family, Ace! Eat and drink your fill!"
"OHHH!" the crew roared in unison, their excitement reaching a fever pitch.
"Pops... everyone..." Ace started to speak but found the words caught in his throat.
"Ace, don't just stand there! Drain this cup!"
"Yeah, Ace!"
"And Ace's brothers! Don't be polite—eat and drink everything in sight!"
Sabo, Drake, and Luffy merely gave casual waves, their mouths never stopping for a second.
Ace raised his cup, looking around at his comrades. "I won't waste time on thanks. Bottoms up!" He drained the sake in one go.
"YEAH!!"
"Eat up, everyone. Once the banquet is over, we head back to the New World!" Marco announced, raising his own glass.
"Understood, Commander Marco!"
"Back to the New World, huh... I can't wait."
"Me neither..."
Suddenly, Luffy stood up. "Not enough meat! Bring more! Keep it coming!"
Drake looked at the mountain of bones already piling up, and he was genuinely stunned. What shocked him wasn't just how much Luffy could eat, but how much he was eating. He wasn't quite at Luffy's level, but he was out-eating both Ace and Sabo—and by a wide margin!
He hadn't realized his appetite was this monstrous over the last few days. Is it because the energy consumption of high-intensity combat is too high? He stopped trying to figure it out and just tore into a fresh plate. Whatever the reason, this meat was heavenly!
Because of the commotion Luffy's group was making, they quickly became the center of attention.
"Ace's brother has a hell of an appetite!"
"Yeah! But we chefs can't lose to a few stomachs! Keep the dishes moving! Faster!"
"Coming, coming!"
Luffy's rubber-enhanced maw was like a harvester for meat. As soon as it entered his mouth, it vanished. The servers were practically sprinting to the table, but the food disappeared before they could even set the platters down. Luffy had never lost a "battle" when it came to eating.
The deck of the Moby Dick turned into a sprint track for the servers. In the kitchen, the chefs were flipping pans with frantic speed, sweat pouring down their brows, their eyes locked on the flames. They were in "The Zone."
"This..." The Whitebeard Pirates watched in awe as Luffy ate and the chefs scrambled.
"Chefs, don't you dare lose! We can't let the Whitebeard Pirates get a reputation for being bad hosts!"
"Right! We have to treat Ace's brothers right! Hahaha!"
Inside the kitchen, the head chef gave a grand sweep of his arm. "Don't you worry! How could we let Ace's brothers leave hungry? Today, I stake my decades of culinary honor on stuffing those boys to the limit!"
"Let's move! Don't lose to those stomachs!"
"YES, CHEF!" A dozen cooks roared back, their morale at an all-time high.
The sounds of sizzling pans and roaring fires filled the air...
Whitebeard watched the four brothers "slaughtering" the food and a small smile touched his lips. "Being young... it really is something."
Muttering to himself, Whitebeard slowly stood up and began walking toward Ace and the others.
"Pops..." Marco saw him moving and immediately followed.